3 OFFICERS ‘SHOT’
West Van
hostage
exercise

ends in-
negotiations
By CHRIS LLOYD

4

It was completely by
coincidence but the
timing of West Van-
couver’s first hostage
exercise couldn’t have
been more perfect.

Even though it had been
planned for more than a
month, the fact that the
enactment occurred
Thursday, just one day after

an actual hostage taking
incident had occurred in
Vancouver. perfectly

demonstrated the validity of
sSlaging the exercise,
whatever it may have cost.

Even some of the key
personnel in the exercise.
commando-style police

members of the Emergency
Response Team, had been
involved in the previous
day's incident.

The circumstances of the
exercise were deliberately
kept as unplanned = as
possible so that the outcome
of the exercise would
depend completely on the
tactics of the West Van
Pohce officers, RCMP
officers and ERT members
involved.

The scenario was thal a
man stopped by a police
officer in a routine check at
the top of Cypress Bowl
Road shot the officer ana
then drove down to the
municipal works yard, where
he took a woman there
hostage and holed up tn a
works trailer.

For the next five hours,
during which two more
officers were shot” and one of
them was retmeved by a
remote controlled robot, the
participants used every
negotiating technique they
could come up with until the
“gunman” surrendered with

witty, nee t
OE

his “hostage.”

West
say
some
needed

Vancouver

Ironing

oul

Police

the exercise disclosed
“wrinkles”

which
But

should a hostage incident
ever occurin West Van then
the pohce already have a
head start on how to handle
i

DEALING WITH A GUNMAN in a hostage-taking
situation can require hours of patience by negotiators,
while sharpshooters have to be ready to take over at
the first sign of things getting out of hand. Top picture
shows members of the Emergency Response Team,
while in the lower picture negotiators led by West Van
Police detective Ron Denney (far left) speak by phone
to the “captor.” (lan Smith photo)

YOU CAN LOSE EXCESS WEIGHT

JICKL Y e SAFELY
‘ NATURALLY

we FY.
Po Just ask Marjorne Belshaw

“T LOST 52%, LBS
IN JUST 14 WEEKS!”

And Marrone s

sO impressed

husband was
mith ober
progress that be wuned her at

Dret Co eniter 7O Tbs

brurtasernt!

and lost

YOU CAN DO TE TOGO!

as

eNO CONTRAC IS

>in pl THE LOSING,
eNO SHOTS
e NGC) DRUGS

NOK TH VANC OUTER WEST ANCOUNER
98K O27 12 Him 104 5K5 fOth St
1366 14th Street 922 2021

A3-Sunday News, May 11, 1980

The lady is

qa rescuer
PAGE Cl

What's your
interest?
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Government
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Automotive 610
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